Absinthe wormwood is normally Artemisia Absinthium or Grand Wormwood which is actually a variety of wormwood which does not contain a vast amount of the chemical thujone. Some brands of Absinthe use Roman Wormwood, Artemisia Pontica, in addition to Grand Wormwood and this type of wormwood also contains thujone, so drinks with two types of wormwood may contain more thujone. Thujone amounts can differ between brands significantly, some Absinthes only have negligible amounts of thujone, whereas others have up to 35mg/kg. The USA does not allow Absinthe having thujone content.

Absinthe Wormwood has a controversy?

Common Wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium, is a plant which has been used in medicine since Ancient times. It has already been used:-
- It is efficient on poisoning caused by toadstools and hemlock.
- Ways of using it as a tonic.
- One can also use it for reducing fever.
- As a digestive stimulant.
- To treat parasitic intestinal worms.
Due to wormwood Absinthe got it’s bitter taste, green color and name. A person can see the appearance of the “louche” effect caused by the essential herbal oils in Absinthe when water is added to the drink.
The thujone content has many harmful effects because of which Absinthe was banned in most of the countries in the beginning of 1900s. Thujone was claimed to have psychoactive and psychedelic effects and also an hallucinogen and Absinthe drinking was linked with violent crimes, serious intoxication, insanity. After drinking the Absinthe a french man consumed lots of other alcohol and killed his family for which Absinthe was made responsible!
Being a trendy Bohemian drink this was drunk by various writers and artists avd was restricted at once. Absinthe was never restricted in the UK, Spain, Portugal or the Czech Republic though banned in many European countries.

Absinthe Wormwood Revival

There was never any real evidence linking Absinthe drinking to hallucinations or insanity and it is now known that Absinthe is no worse than any other highly alcoholic drink. The alcoholic content in Absinthe is twice than that in whisky and vodka so care should be taken while consuming it but Absinthe wormwood is not thought to be harmful. Many Absinthe drinkers do report feeling a funny lucid or clear headed type of drunkenness when consuming a bit too much Absinthe – this could be due to the combination of the sedative effects of some of the herbs (and the alcohol content)and the stimulating effects of the Wormwood and other herbs.

Absinthe drinking became a revival after it’s relegalization in many countries. There are many different types and brands of Absinthe available to buy and buyers can even order Absinthe essence, to make their own Absinthe, online from companies like AbsintheKit.com.

Although Absinthe Wormwood is still the most important ingredient in Absinthe but thujone content is strictly banned in the European Union and in the United States. One should avoid Absinthe containing artificial flavors.